How to Care for Dwarf Lupine in Winter

Dwarf lupine attracts hummingbirds and butterflies.

Typically featured in customary English cottage style gardens, dwarf lupines add a spectacular effect with their vivid spires of blossoms atop dense, vigorous plants. Minarette dwarf lupine (Lupinus polyphyllus "Minarette"), is a perennial plant known for producing large blossoms in brilliant colors in a variety of hues. Dwarf lupine attracts hummingbirds and butterflies, and the showy cut flowers last a week or more. Winter care for dwarf lupine doesn’t require much, as long as you do specific things before and after the winter season.

Things You'll Need

• Hand pruner
• Fertilizer

Instructions

1. Trim spent blooms off the dwarf lupine plants to encourage more flowering during the summer growing season. However, allow a few plants to set seed in late summer or early fall to produce some new plants every year.

2. Stop all watering and fertilizing in the fall and allow the dwarf lupine to die back naturally in winter.

3. Cut the dead foliage back to the ground during winter or at the beginning of spring before new growth starts.

4. Apply an all-purpose fertilizer as directed to the dwarf lupine in early spring after cutting the plants back, and then water them well to push the fertilizer down to the roots.

References

• Learn 2 Grow: Lupinus (Minarette Group)
• Monrovia: Minarette Dwarf Lupine

Resources

• Heritage Perennials: Lupinus Gallery Series Mixture